The 25^th Best of Budapest & Hungary gala was hosted on 14^th of April at the Budapest Congress Centre, recognizing the best of the Hungarian catering, hotel and service industries.

Apart from the traditional Best of Budapest & Hungary awards – eight of which were presented to several Mellow Mood hotels –, the two owner-CEOs of the hotel chain were also recognized with the Champion of Tourism award.

Since 1993, Budapest Week Publishing has asked its readers and business partners every year about whom they consider to be the most outstanding service providers of the domestic tourism and catering industry.

Based on the votes received and the ruling of the professional jury, winners were announced in nearly 40 different categories. At the recent anniversary event, 9 special awards were presented to outstanding professionals who have provided exceptional performance for decades in various sectors of the tourism industry (hospitality, catering, transport).

From the hotel sector, Sameer Hamdan and Zuhair Awad won the Best of Budapest & Hungary Champion of Tourism award which was established in 2018 by Péter Freed, creator of the Best of Budapest & Hungary rating system.

The dynamically developing hotel company of Mellow Mood Hotels has been active in the Hungarian market for over 20 years. Their chain currently consists of 12 hotels and has been responsible for numerous real estate development projects. Due to their activities, they are now recognized for their excellence as some of the most influential figures of the domestic tourism scene.

“It is a great honour for us that the publisher and the professional jury chose to present us with this award. Throughout our activities, we have always striven to bring something new to the range of hotels in the capital and face the challenges of the future. Just as in the case of our currently undergoing project, Párisi Udvar Hotel, we devote special attention to provide tourists arriving in Budapest as well as local citizens with innovative experiences through our high quality services” – said Sameer Hamdan after accepting the award.

 “For us, Mellow Mood Hotels is like one big family, so this recognition is just as much the award of our colleagues as it is our own. We have been operating hotels for over two decades now and I feel that our team could hold its own at any world brand. It is a great pleasure for us to work with such professional experts who are aware of international trends and are good at adapting them to the options available in Budapest” - added co-owner Zuhair Awad.

This year, the hotels and restaurants of Mellow Mood Hotels received the following Best of Budapest awards: 

All the four-star establishments of the hotel chain received the “Amongst the best 4 star hotels” certificate, including Atrium Fashion Hotel, Buda Castle Fashion Hotel, La Prima Fashion Hotel Budapest, Estilo Fashion Hotel and Expo Congress Hotel. The Buddha-Bar Hotel Budapest received an award in the “Amongst the best 5 star hotels” category, the Buddha-Bar Budapest Restaurant in the “Amongst the Best Far Eastern Restaurants” category and the Baalbek Lebanese restaurant won the “Best Middle Eastern Restaurant” award.

Visit Mellow Mood Hotels online